Wilson Center Experts

Paulo Sotero

Paulo Sotero is the director of the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. An award winning journalist, from 1989 to 2006 he was the Washington correspondent for Estado de S.Paulo, a leading Brazilian daily newspaper. Sotero began his career at Veja in the late 1960s and worked for the magazine in São Paulo, Recife, Brasília, and Paris, until he was named its correspondent in Portugal after the democratic revolution of April 25, 1974. Sotero has been in Washington, D.C., since 1980, where he has been a correspondent for Istoé weekly magazine and the financial newspaper Gazeta Mecantil. He is a frequent guest commentator for the BBC, CNN, AlJazeera, Voice of America, National Public Radio, Globo News Television and the Brazilian Radio Network - CBN. He also contributes regularly to Brazilian and international newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. A native of the state of São Paulo, Sotero holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the Catholic University of Pernambuco, and a Master’s in Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University, in Washington, D.C. He has been an adjunct lecturer at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, and is currently on the adjunct faculty of the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

Education

M.A., Journalism and Public Affairs, American University, Washington, D.C.

Subjects

Brazil,Latin America,Media,U.S.-Brazil Relations

Experience

Washington correspondent for O Estado de S. Paulo; commentator and analyst for national and international news outlets; adjunct lecturer of Brazilian politics and the media at Georgetown University; writer and lecturer on Brazilian and Latin American affairs and Brazil-U.S. relations

Expertise

Latin America, with particular emphasis on Brazil, contemporary politics, and the media

Related Content for this Expert

The first Latin American Pope has come to Brazil with a message that challenges leaders to address the needs of the “have-nots” at a time when citizens have become increasingly restless about economic inequality. Will Pope Francis’ message have an impact on Brazilian politics and renew interest in the Catholic Church among Brazil’s youth? Paulo Sotero provides context. more

Mass protests across Brazil surprised politicians at all levels of government when they began in June following a brutal police response to demonstrations against increases in public transport fares in São Paulo. Paulo Sotero, just back from Brazil, described what’s happening and what it represents. more

After one round of voting in Brazil, the unpredictability factor in the race for the presidency remains intact. Brazil Institute Director Paulo Sotero, discusses the latest as incumbent Dilma Rousseff and challenger Aecio Neves head toward a runoff vote on October 26th. A key for each campaign will be winning over supporters of Marina Silva, following her third place finish in round one of the voting. Sotero describes the factors and issues in play.

President Dilma Rousseff failed to secure an absolute majority of votes in the first ballot of Brazil’s elections and will face senator Aécio Neves, a popular former governor of the state of Minas Gerais, in a final round scheduled for Sunday October 26.

Given the dynamic nature of the upcoming elections and the developments that are bound to occur with a new administration, we are looking forward to what is sure to be an engaging discussion with distinguished panelists and invited guests, from experts on Brazil’s political and economic conditions to authorities on the nation’s private sector relationships.

The Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, Mexico Institute and Middle East Program, in partnership with the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs hosted an event on social media and it's impact on social movements.

On July 29, sociologist Mauro Paulino, director of Datafolha and Brazil's leading pollster offered his assessment of the field, prospects of the leading candidates and issues that will influence the choices of the more than 140 million voters expected at the polls.

The meteoric rise of the BRICS group has led to an unprecedented increase in partnership, trade, and investment among some of the world’s most dynamic economies. Yet this increase in cooperation should not be allowed to obscure the complexities and contradictions inherent within this cohort of emerging global actors.

Pages

Created in June 2006 as part of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, the Brazil Institute strives to foster informed dialogue on key issues important to Brazilians and to the Brazilian-U.S. relationship. We work to promote detailed analysis of Brazil’s public policy and advance Washington’s understanding of contemporary Brazilian developments, mindful of the long history that binds the two most populous democracies in the Americas.

The growing presence of Brazilian global companies in the United States complements traditionally strong investments by U.S. companies in Brazil. This trend has created a two-way street where common interests are more visible and both governments are pressured to recognize the benefits of working together or risk paying a political price for not doing so.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

In the First Brazilian Congressional Study Mission on Innovation, a group of Brazilian congressman and senators visited the Wilson Center, State Department, and MIT to discuss innovation policies in the United States.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

David Fleischer Emeritus Professor and former chair of the Department
of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Brasilia, and Paulo Sotero Director of the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center and former Washington Correspondent for the Newspaper O Estado De Sao Paulo.